La Belle Vie

McCain-Feingold

So sunday morning i wake up somewhere in the hours between 9 and 11 and wander out to the living room in my usual not-that-hungover-because-i-only-drank-a-bottle-of-boones-last-night-but-still-
tired-because-that's-the-way-i-am-in-the-mornings stupor, and, on some sort of weird, masochistic whim, turned on the sunday morning talk shows, just in time to catch the beginning of Russ Feingold being interviewed on Meet the Press. Senator Feingold is on there talking about having called for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. This is mildly interesting, but not that exciting. What is more fascinating is that almost from the second the senator opens his mouth, i'm thinking, "this man is running for president." This feeling becomes even more blatant when "distinguished-looking" white man (television anchors aren't names, they're types) asks, point-blank, "Senator, are you a candidate for the presidency in 2008?" and Feingold responds with a full three minutes of platform-enunciating and not-denial. Now i don't know very much about Russ Feingold, but i kind of cock my head in mild interest at this revelation, mainly because Feingold ISN'T Hillary or Kerry, and god knows we need more dems who fit that description. And then i switch over to ABC, where Georgie Stephanopolous, like a good adorable little monkey, is talking about Kinky Friedman and the Daily Show. This is when Silpa comes out and joins me. We bask for a few minutes in Jon Stewart's gloriousness, and then i tell her about Feingold, and Silpa says, "oh that's interesting, the only thing i really know about him is the McCain-Feingold bill..." and all of a sudden my usually suppressed, corny, ridiculously lame, political junkie sense of humour rushes to take over my brain with the thought, "wouldn't it be HILARIOUS if McCain was the Republican nominee in 2008 and Feingold was the democrat, and then it was the McCain-Feingold race." And no, actually, it wouldn't really be that funny at all. Vaguely amusing for about five seconds. BUT, i'm fairly certain that were that to happen, there would be a slew of articles ALL over the newspapers, magazines, and blogosphere, comparing each candidates compliance with the legislation that bears their names. And because i have NOTHING to do at the news office today, i'm gonna beat them to it. So here it is, and you heard it here first.

First of all, for those of us who might need a brief refresher, a summary of the major points of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (aka McCain-Feingold).

Now the dirt. We'll start with McCain, because he's my favourite. Except when he's being a dick.
-Career profile of McCain's fundraising activities
-McCain received $31,000 from Global Crossing, and appears to have returned the favour.
-Also, a Center for Responsive Politics study from the 2000 presidential election, which reveals an encouraging and ideologically-consistent reliance on small contributors in the McCain campaign, also reveals a rather disturbing reliance on PACs.
-Then there's the Reform Institute, which simultaneously supports campaign finance reform and provides a convenient way for its chief proponent to circumvent it, if he so chooses
-and McCain's identification with campaign finance reform has made him quite a target for plenty of other reports on minor items of hypocrisy.
-on the other hand, props to McCain for effective utilization of internet fundraising back when Howard Dean was still a twinkle in Karl Rove's eyes, and for keeping up the fight in the Senate

Now Feingold.
-The basics: Feingold's individual-to-PAC contributor ratio is lower than McCain's. His disclosure has improved quite a bit but remains imperfect, and recently businesses have started to play a larger role in his fundraising. Also, the man gets lots of money from lawyers.
-Feingold spoke out against his own party's attempts to circumvent the BCRA, and other fundraising efforts.
-Also, he gets props for refusing to accept soft money in his last (pre McCain-Feingold) Senate race.
-Honestly, except for one chronicle of bitterness of a defeated opponent, i couldn't find a single example of Feingold even potentially violating or subverting McCain-Feingold.

So i guess in this comparison it's the democrat who wins. But in all fairness, it's important to note that McCain has been far more of a national figure than Feingold, and thus far more of a target for critical eyes. Who knows what may be revealed if Feingold steps more into the national spotlight? In any case, who really cares about the 2008 elections anyway? It's all just a game until 2012, which is when OBAMA should run.

love y'all

Thanks to the good nerds at google for making this ridiculously long entry possible.

posted by Monica @ 10:42 AM